Laura Newman
I am a medical journalist and blogger. My stories have appeared in peer-reviewed journals and on the web. In Patient POV, I strive to bring the same rigor to telling stories about patients that I have shown in my previous work, which has featured research scientists and physicians.
Laura can be found on Twitter as @lauranewmanny.
Patient POVI’m on ScienceSeeker
Monthly Archives: May 2011
Day 31 of Word Count Blogathon 2011:
Thanks to Michelle Rafter and All the Bloggers
Tweet Even though there is plenty of important health news to write about today, I would be remiss if I didn’t set aside this final post to thank Michelle Rafter and more than 180 bloggers who pitched in to share … Continue reading
WordCount Blogathon 2011 Wordle for Patient POV
Tweet This post is a suggested assignment from the Word Count Blogathon 2011, which is concluding May 31, 2011. For my blog, I am not thrilled with this cloud. The program Wordle supposedly scanned my blog and picked out keywords. … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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6 Types of Patient Stories We Need to Hear More About
Tweet I hope that patient stories that I tell here can really make a contribution to helping healthcare match what really matters to patients. That means that I’d like to tell stories that have been invisible or bear continuing exposure, … Continue reading
Posted in Patient stories
Tagged diversity, economy, isolation, medical bankruptcy, medical errors, program cuts
2 Comments
Memorial Day Comes Early: Notes on Gil Scott-Heron and Black Health in America
Tweet I can’t give you the news the way poet Gil-Scott Heron would, but I can imagine some of the social realities that would move him to poetry and song. It’s a nasty time for blacks and African Americans in … Continue reading
Is Lap Band Surgery Appropriate for Obese Teens?
Tweet Earlier this week, the LA Times reported that Allergan was filing an FDA application for its lap band surgery for teens as young as 14. The application follows Allergan getting FDA okay to lower weight threshold for lap band … Continue reading
Posted in FDA, obesity, teens, weight-loss surgery
Tagged Allergan, bariatric surgery, lap band surgery
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Acclaimed Books, Films, and Projects About
Alzheimer’s Disease, Other Dementias, and Memory Loss
Tweet Books, films, and innovative projects on Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and memory loss are growing. I have assembled a short list of them.There are many foreign films, particularly from South Korea and Japan that are excellent. I hope that US … Continue reading
Preventing Falls in Hotel Bathtubs
Tweet I wouldn’t have considered posting this, except that I am in the WordCount Blogathon and don’t want to miss a day. I fell in a hotel bathtub in a “boutique luxury” hotel this morning, arrive late to a meeting, … Continue reading
Writing About Alzheimer’s and Dementia Gets Complicated
Tweet Now that I have spent three days listening to expert neurologists, demographers, caregivers, and policy people talk about Alzheimer’s, I come away from the meeting with a sense that the story is complicated, and that I hope it is … Continue reading
Posted in Alzheimer's disease
Tagged clinical trials, dementia, long term care, Medicare, patient protection, screening
6 Comments
Alzheimer’s Disease Issues – Day 2:
Let’s Keep the Conversation Going
Tweet I spent today at an all day Alzheimer’s meeting, taking notes and tweeting. I am also exhausted. Many of you know that this is my 23rd consecutive day blogging here. There are a lot of pluses to posting every … Continue reading
Posted in Alzheimer's disease, long term care, Medicare
Tagged access to care, Alzheimer's disease, Medicare, retirement
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Alzheimer’s Disease Issues 2011 Fellowship Begins
Tweet I am in Washington at the National Press Foundation’s Alzheimer’s Disease Issues 2011 Fellowship with about 15 other journalists. The program runs through Wednesday. Today’s session was a half-day, with presentations by Richard Jackson, director of the Global Aging … Continue reading
Posted in Alzheimer's disease, health planning, legislative initiatives
Tagged Alzheimer's disease, health planning, Medicare, stigma
2 Comments